Potato-separator.



A. PRINZ.

POTATO SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24. 1913.

Patented May 28,1918.-

nnrrnn sraans rarnnr @FFIQEJ ALFRED PRIINZ, OF SCHWIEB'US, GERMANY.

POTATO-SEPARATOR. i

Application filed July 24, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED PRINZ, a citizen of the Empire of Germany, residing at Schwiebus, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potato- Separators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in potato diggers, and more, particularly in potato diggers in which the potatoes are dug from the soil by means of arms passing into the soil, and which are equipped with a rotary disk and a member for feeding the potatoes to another part of the digger. The object of the improvements is to provide a machine of this class in which the potatoes are separated from the stones which have been dug from the soil by the said arms. With this object in view my invention consists in providing a stationary member above the said disk and in the path of the potatoes fed thereto, which stationary member has such a height and shape that the potatoes are thrown over the same into a trough or the like while the heavier stones, which have a greater weight than the potatoes pass along the said stationary member and are thrown back on the soil.

In order that my invention be more clearly understood, an example embodying the same has been shown in the accompanying drawing, in which the same letters of reference ha e been used in all the views to indicate corresponding parts. In said drawings- In the example shown in the drawing the I potato digger consists of a frame 1 which is mounted on front wheels 2 and rear wheels (not shown). Near the front end of the frame 1 a rocking frame is ivotally mounted on pivot bolts 6, which ame consists of rocking arms 4 and 5. I The arm 4 carries a bearing 8 which provides a support for the pivot 9 of a rotary disk 10. To the arm 5 a ring 13 is secured by means of angle irons 11 and 12, and on the said ring an annular disk 15 formed with teeth 14 is mounted by means of an antifriction bearing provided by balls 16.

The disks 10 and 5 are rigidly connected Specification of Letters Patent.

it carries a grooved disk .35.

Patented May 28, 1918.

Serial No. 780,956.

with each other by transverse bars 20, and on the said bars gripping arms 17 are mounted which upon rotation of the disks 10 and 15 pass through the teeth of a rack 23 which is mounted on a. bail 24 suspended from the arms 4 and, 5 and provides a plow member passingwith the forwardly directed front ends of the teeth through the soil.

Between the disks 10 and 15 a sieve 26 is supported by rods 27 and 28 which are attached to the ring 13., Below the sieve 26 a plate 29 is provided which is inclined down- :ward and rearward and is secured with The lower edge of the said plate is disposed substantially vertically above the rear edges of the teeth of the rack 23.

The teeth 14 are in mesh with the teeth of a pinion 31 keyed to a shaft 32 mounted on the frame 1. This shaft is adapted to be rotated from the rear axle by means of a chain 33 and a sprocket wheel 34, and In a bracket 42 secured to, the frame 1 a vertical shaft 41 is mounted which carries a grooved disk 40 and a horizontal disk 43 located below the discharge end of the sieve 26. The grooved disks 35 and 40 are operatively connected by a rope or cord 36 which is trained 'on the said disks and on grooved guide rollers 38 and 39 mounted on a frame 37.

The disk 43 is formed about the larger part of its circumference with an upwardly directed. flange 44. Above the disk a stop member in the form of a nonradial bar 45 is located which is connected with a discharge end of the sieve 26 a stripping .member 47 is provided which is secured to the flange 44.

The operation of the digger is as follows: In order to throw the digger into operation the rocking frame 4, 5 and the parts mounted thereon are lowered, so that the ends 25 of the teeth of the rack 23 are forced into the soil when the digger is traveling over the same, whereby the potatoes are dug from the soil. The arms 17 are rotated from the rear axle through the chain and sprocket gearing 33, 34 and the gear wheels 31 and 14, and they pass between the teeth of the rack 23, raise the potatoes from the soil and drop the same on the sieve 26. While the P t t es sl d downward on th i d sieve, the soil Which has been by the teeth of the rack drops on the inclined plate :29 from which it slides rear- Ward.

From the sieve 26 the potatoes are de livered to the disk d3 which is being rotated from the shaft through the rope gearing 35, 36, SS, 89. l0, and they are carried along by the said disk in'the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 2, until they strike against the member I). The potatoes will now 'bethrown over the said member and they fall into the trough 4E6. While the stones Which have been carried along and are still mixed with the potatoes slide along the member to by reason of their Weight and are engaged by the stripping member 47 which throws them on the ground.

From the trough t6 the potatoes may be fed in any snitableway, for example by means of. buckets which raise the potatoes and feed the same to an asserting device provided on the rear aart of the machine which has not been illustrated.

In this Way the potatoes are automatically separated from the stones which have been carried alongby the arms 1 so that potatoes exclusively are taken from the trough and ted to the asserting mechanism.

1 claim herein as my invention:

1. In a potato separator. the combination, of a rotary disk adapted to receive the potatoes dog from the soil. a stationary member provided above the said disk and adapted to permit the potatoes revolving; with said disk to be thrown over the said inember but to arrest heavy objects, the edge of the disk being tree or exposed at a point out of registry with said statirniary member, to allow the heavy objects to be thrown oil at such point.

2. In a potato separator, the combination, of a rotary disk adapted to receive'the potatoes dog from the soil, a stationary member provided above the said disk and adapted to permit the potatoes revolving with said disk to be thrown over the same but to arrest heavy objects, and a stripping member arcarried along ranged above said disk behind the stationary member and adapted to strip from said disk the objects arrested by said memher.

3. In a potato separator, the combination, of a rotary disk adapted to receive the potatoes and stones due from the soil, and astationary 11on-radial member arranged above said disk and adapted to arrest and deflect stones While allowing potatoes to be thrown over said member.

In a device of the class described, the combination, with a rotary disk adapted to receive the articles to be separated, ot a stationary nonradial member arranged above said disk and adapted to arrest and deflect relatively heavy articles while allowing relatively light articles to be thrown over said stationarv member.

5. In a device or the class described,the

combination; with a rotary disk adapted toreceive' the articles to be separated, of a stationary nonradial member arranged above said disk and adapted to arrest and deflect relatively heavy articles While allowing relatively light articles to be thrown over said member, and a stripping member located above said disk and arranged to romore therefrom the articles arrested and deflected by said first-named member.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination, With a rotary disk adapted to receive the articles to be separated, of a stationary stop member arranged above said disk and adapted to arrest and defleetrelatively heavy articles While allowing relatively light articles to be thrown over said member, and a stripping member also located above said disk and arranged to remove therefrom the articles arrested and deflected by said stop member.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ALFRED PRINZ. 'lTitnesses lVoLDnMAn Harri-=1, HEN Y Hasrnn.

llopiee or this patent may be obtained for fire cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents,

""j faslringten, D. ill i i 

